Hail To The Thief
by Johnny Nguyen
Summary: CH. 2: DEADLY ENCOUNTERS - Government Agent, Rouge The Bat, is sent to Paris to "Infiltrate & Sabotage" the Blackmarket Weapons Trade but things don't go quite as planned... R
1. The Mission

Hail To The Thief

Chapter 1: The Mission

"Ah, another jewel. This one glows more brilliantly than the last." Rouge whispered to herself. "Dr. Eggman sure made it easy for me to just slip into his vault and take his treasures at will. I'll have to make two-maybe three trips just to collect them all! What a chump." She said, sorting through the vault, trying to find the rarest and most valuable treasure. _"Though, it's no wonder he can afford to build such massive bases with all these rare gems just lying around. But it sure does make MY job a lot easier." _She giggled. She stuffed a few more sparkling jewels into her burlap sack and took one last look around the steel-plated vault before leaving the fortress. "It just doesn't feel right leaving all those precious jewels behind… but there's only so much one girl can carry!" She pondered. As she flew over the city, a thought crossed her mind, "Just where is that old egg-headed doctor anyway?" His security was far from the best, but it's never been _this _easy to just walk in and take all his treasure…"

Watching the city lights pass below her, she couldn't help but wonder about Shadow's recent absence as well. "That guy's always so secretive about his life. It drives me nuts. And after that little stunt he pulled… Well, if I ever see him again it'll be _too soon_. " She said. "Come to think of it, Shadow's usually at the GUN base or on a some mission. But I haven't seen or heard from him in months. Strange…"

Rouge arrived in Night Babylon several minutes later, and after dropping off her stash at Club Rouge she got a call from the GUN General.

"Agent Rouge, do you copy?" His voice sounding more stressed than usual.

"This can't be good..." She mumbled. "What's up, Boss?"

"Rouge, we need you back at the base A.S.A.P." He said.

"Awww, but I didn't even get the chance to sort out my treasure yet!" She argued.

"This isn't the time for complaints, Rouge!" The General yelled.

"Oh fine... I'm on my way." Rouge said reluctantly.

"What could be so important that I don't even have the time to admire my new jewels? I bet Eggman's got something to do with this! He's always getting in my way." Rouge thought. She quickly slipped out of her stealth gear, put on her purple body-suit and headed north, towards the GUN base. When she arrived at the lobby inside the base it seemed that everyone, including the employees, were in a hurry. Helicopters were flying in and out of the helipad and soldiers were scattered all around. Rouge made her way upstairs to the General's office and was nearly trampled by a group of reporters trying to get an interview.

"All right, all right. Nothing to see here! Everyone needs to wait in the lobby! Now!" A security guard told the reporters.

"The people have a right to know the truth!" One journalist yelled.

"What is the Government hiding and why is important information being kept secret from the public?!" A reporter demanded.

"Generic condescending remark!" Yelled a cameraman.

Rouge pushed her way through the mob to the General's office door. "Hey, cutie. Mind letting me through?" She asked the Security Guard. "Right this way…" The guard said, prying the door open just enough to let her in. She slipped inside and was greeted by the GUN General. "Ah, Rouge. It's about time you got here." He said, irritated. "Hey, traffic was terrible." Rouge retorted sarcastically. "So, what's up with the mob scene out there?"

"You haven't heard?" The General asked her, befuddled. "Heard what, exactly?" She replied. "We've got a National Emergency on our hands. Dr. Eggman has a stockpile of Nuclear Arms and is threatening to launch an attack against Mobius." He said sternly. "Jeez, he's really stepping up the insanity notch, eh?" Rouge quipped. "This isn't a joke, Rouge. North Korea has already made numerous threats against our government, and with Dr. Eggman's worldwide televised threat… I just don't know how we can keep control of this situation." He said grimly. "But that's where you come in." "Is that so?" Rouge said. "We've already got an agent overseas, monitoring foreign weapon trades activity." The General told her. "Since you're specialty is infiltration and sabotage, you'll be meeting with him in Paris and keeping an eye on one of the major Nuclear Arms Traders over there. If we can stop these Black Market Traders, we'll be able to cut off Dr. Eggman's resources!"

"Sounds good to me. France has so many wonderful jewels!" She joked.

"This is serious, Rouge. You need to stay focused and alert at all times. Every country is at war right now, which means even the civilians are armed and dangerous." He warned.

"Oh, you party pooper… So anyway, who am I meeting?" Rouge asked.

"That's classified. You know the deal. You'll be briefed on your mission upon arrival at the drop point." He told her. "Speaking of which, your helicopter is leaving in ten minutes."

"Yeah, yeah. I'm goin'…"

Rouge left the office and headed down the hall, towards the elevators. She took the elevator to the top of the building, where the helipad was located, along with her ride to Paris. After strapping herself into the chopper's seat, she began to ponder the details of her mission. _"Infiltrate and Sabotage, huh?" _Maybe it was the mysterious nature of this assignment, or the romantic location she was being sent to. Whatever it was, she felt good about it. The sense of danger and excitement of going to a foreign land to spy on weapons traders made her feel like a movie star. "_Agent Rouge_" She chuckled.

* * *

It was morning when the helicopter arrived high above the drop point and Rouge was fast asleep. "Agent Rouge, we're here." A Soldier told her, nudging her to wake up. She pried her eyes open and yawned, taking the time to stretch her tired wings and arms. "It's about time." She said, rubbing her eyes. The Captain made his way from the cockpit to the back of the chopper and briefed Rouge about her mission. He handed her a two-way communication watch, a briefcase containing GUN's latest weaponry advancements, and a fat wad of French Currency. The chopper kicked up such a racket, Rouge could only hear half of what the Captain was saying. He pointed to a small wooded area near the city and said "Go!". Without hesitation, she jumped out of the helicopter and soared through the crisp morning air towards the wooded area below, using her superior stealth abilities to avoid air traffic control and stay off the radar.

She landed just a few yards from the city and kneeled down behind a trough of bushes. The quick-witted bat pulled out a pair of facial recognition binoculars and scanned the people walking through the busy city street. After determining there was no immediate threat she put the binoculars back in her briefcase and strolled along the sidewalk in her non-chalet manner. As she passed a store, a shiny gem caught her eye. She leaned up against the store's window and gazed at the gem.

"_Rouge, do you copy?"_

Rouge looked down at her communication watch and back at the gem. "I'll be back for _you_ later." she whispered.

"Yes. I'm here." She finally said to her watch.

"Good. I'm sending you coordinates to your hotel. Everything's been paid for, just get your room key and follow the instructions from there on. If you have any questions, you know how to contact me. Over and out." The General said.

"Hmmm… If he keeps interrupting me, this could turn out to be a boring vacation." She thought. Just then her watch beeped and directions began to scroll down the screen. She followed them and found herself standing in front of an expensive looking hotel. "Only the best for someone like me!" Rouge laughed. She walked inside and requested her room key. "One moment please." The receptionist said. Rouge observed her surroundings. Shady characters seemed to be all around. High paid security at every door, obvious drug dealers walking in and out of the hotel, leaving with cases of what Rouge assumed was blood money. "Here you go, miss." The receptionist said, handing Rouge her room key. "10th floor and the elevators are down the hall, to the right."

"Thanks, sugar." Rouge said. She grabbed the key and headed to the elevators.

Inside, her room was decorated with no expense spared. Sitting upon the desk near the window was a vanilla envelope. Rouge picked it up and examined the files inside. Pictures of the targets, locations they frequent and vantage points to collect evidence on their trades. Also inside the envelope was a picture of a restaurant and a note:

"_Agent Rouge, inside this envelope you will find all the information you need to successfully complete your mission. Along with photographed locations and detailed background information on the targets. Also inside, you'll find picture of the 'Crem De La Crem' restaurant. Here you will meet another agent, who has been watching the pre-determined targets for some time now. We've provided you with clothes to wear at the aforementioned restaurant. You'll be meeting your contact there at 8 p.m. Good luck." -- "This message will self destruct in 5...4...3...2..."_

Rouge tossed the paper out the window as it exploded in a small plume of smoke.

"Who am I, Tom Cruise?" Rouge groaned. "These people and their theatrics…"


	2. Deadly Encounters

Hail To The Thief

Chapter 2: Deadly Encounters

It was almost 8:00 p.m. and Rouge had yet to prepare for her meeting with the mysterious GUN Agent. After lounging around for a bit, she finally decided to get ready. She opened the hotel closet and found a red dress, sealed in plastic, hanging inside. "Well now, this sure is a surprise. Looks like GUN's Interpol has some pretty decent fashion sense. But why red?" She quickly changed into the dress, surprised by how well it fit, complimenting her curvy figure. Before long, she was out the door and heading to the restaurant where her contact was meeting her. Rouge arrived at the "Crem de la Crem" with very little time to spare. The hostess showed her to a reserved table and offered her a selection of wine. "I'll just take the most expensive wine you have." She said. The hostess walked off. Rouge was studying the people chatting at the other tables when suddenly Espio The Chameleon appeared, sitting across from her.

"You!" She blurted.

"You're late." He said in a low voice.

"You're my contact?" Rouge asked him.

"That's right. I've been monitoring the Black Market deals for some time now." He said professionally.

"I didn't even know you worked for GUN." She said.

"Well," Espio said uncomfortably, "Vector got sent to a… child abuse seminar. And Charmy… he's not doing too well right now... So I decided to free-lance."

"Hmmm…" Rouge mumbled.

"Were you expecting someone else?" He asked her.

"No." She told him, snapping back into reality, "I just wasn't expecting _you_. So what's the deal? Why are we meeting in a place like this?"

"Over there." Espio said, pointing to a booth in the corner of the restaurant.

Rouge glanced over. At the table sat a well-known Russian arms dealer with two scantily clad women. "Vladimir Korkofsky" Espio told her. "From the information I've gathered, it appears that he's the ticket inside the underground weapons trade." "_Really?" _Rouge said, half-interested. "Intel says he knows how to get the stones that these new weapons of mass destruction are created from." He said. "Stones? What kind of stones?" Rouge inquired. "Black Jewels." He told her. "Interesting…" She said, "Just leave this to me, Espio." Rouge got up and walked over to Vladimir's table swinging her hips, which definitely caught Espio's attention.

"Hi." She said seductively. "What do you want?" Vladimir snapped. "I was just looking to make some new friends and I hear that you're the guy to talk to." She said. He took a moment, examining her body. "Hmmm… Maybe we can work something out. I have some clients who have an interest in… furries. How much do you charge?" "Oh, no, silly. That's not what this is about. I'm more interested in _rare artifacts_." She said with a smirk. Vladimir's expression dropped. "Ladies, it's time for you to leave." He said to the women next to him. They walked off in a huff, leaving Rouge and Vladimir alone. "Have a seat." He said.

"_She's good." _Espio thought, watching the two from across the room.

"So, you know who I am. Now, who exactly are _you_?" Vladimir said coldly. "I'm Rouge The Bat. But you can call me Rouge." She told him. "Rouge, huh? Well, Rouge, what is it you're looking for?" He asked her. "Me? I'm just a girl looking for jewelry. And I hear there's a special _kind_ of jewelry on the market… _Black Stones_." Rouge said. "That's a pretty big request for someone I've never heard of." He said impatiently. "Well, that's how I work, handsome. The less you know, the safer it is for everyone." She retorted. Vladimir took a moment to think. He watched Rouge intensively. She stared at him, seducing his conscious with her blue glassy eyes. "Alright." He said finally. He took out a piece of paper and scribbled down instructions on it. "Meet me here tomorrow." He told her, sliding the paper across the table.

Rouge looked at it. "This is where I'll be picking up the jewels?" She asked him.

"We'll see." He said. He got up from the table and called the two women back over to him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I must be going."

After watching Vladimir exit the restaurant, Rouge soon followed. Outside she looked on as he entered a limousine with the two women. "Gotcha." She exclaimed. Rouge was about to take flight when Espio reappeared. "No." He said, bringing her to a halt. "I'll go. You can't afford to be compromised now." He told her. "You've got to be kidding me? I didn't come to France to sit in a hotel all-" Espio had already vanished. "Great… Well, since I've got the rest of the night off, I might as well pay that jewel a little visit…" She grinned.

*** * ***

The next day, Rouge awoke in her comfortable 5 star hotel bed. It was the second day of her overseas mission, and waiting for her at the foot of her bed was a tray of delicious Paris delicacies. After a quick breakfast she jumped in the shower and went over the information she'd receive about Vladimir Korkofsky. _"This guy's a small fry." _She thought. She glanced over at the news report that was on TV, _"It seems a rare gem was stolen from a local jewelry store last night around 9:00. Government Officials have no leads." _The cunning bat giggled to herself as she held her new treasure up to the sunlight. The clear green gem sparkled, illuminating the room. "It's just too easy!"

Later that day, Rouge met with Vladimir in an abandoned warehouse. "What's up, Vlad? She greeted, "I assume you've got my stones?" "On the contrary, Ms. Bat." He said, pulling Espio out of his limo. Espio's mouth was duct taped and his hands bound with chains. Vladimir's henchmen kept their guns steadily pointed at him. "A friend of yours, I assume?" He said. Rouge had no time to think. Espio got caught, but how? What could she do or say to keep her cover AND save Espio? "What's this all about, Vladimir?" Rouge said apprehensively. "I was hoping you could tell me. We know this man works for you!" He shouted. Rouge gained her composure. She said, "Of course he works me! Do you really think I'd do business with someone like you and not have a little research done first?! Now, let him go before you cause yourself more trouble than you're worth!"

Korkofsky stood silent for a moment. After a few seconds he finally said, "Alright. Let him go." "But, Boss…" One henchman said. "Shut up and do as I say!" He ordered. They took the chains off of Espio and removed the duct tape from his mouth. Espio punched out one of the henchmen and disappeared. "Now, can we get down to business? I didn't come all this way to play "Pin the tail on the jackass!" Rouge said. Vlad looked confused for a moment. "Right... business..." He stuttered. Rouge sighed. "Let me guess, you didn't bring me the Black Jewels because of this little misunderstanding?" She said. Vladimir nodded like a scorned child. "Great. Thanks a lot, Vlad! I guess I'll have to take my business elsewhere…" Rouge turned to walk away. "No, wait!" He shouted. "I don't have the gems with me. But I can take you to them. And then we make deal, yes?" He said.

"Hmmm… Fine. But if you can't deliver, then we're going to have a much bigger problem, Vladimir Korkofsky." Rouge threatened. "No, no problems. Please, we will take you to compound, yes?" He said, showing her to the limousine. She got in, followed by Vladimir and the limo made it's way to the Nuclear Testing Compound. Not far away, Espio tracked the limo's movements from the Paris rooftops. "Rouge is on route to the underground facility." He said into his earpiece. _"Good. Stay on her. If things go wrong she's gonna need backup." _The voice replied. "Copy that."

The limo pulled into an underground parking lot, and after a series of long tunnels and hidden entrances, they arrived at a large reinforced door guarded by soldiers and gun turrets. The limousine pulled up to the soldiers. Vladimir rolled down the window and flash the Sergeant his entrance level card. The Sergeant nodded and flagged the door open. The car pulled in. Inside the Headquarters, the compound was massive. Trucks and heavy machinery were carefully hauling dangerous weapons of all sorts throughout the facility. The limo parked and several armed guards escorted Rouge and Vladimir to the upper observation room. Upon entering the room, the two were apprehended and held at gunpoint.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Vladimir shouted.

A man stepped out of the shadows. His face was covered by what looked like a satanic mask of some sort and he wore a large black cloak. "Vladimir Korkofsky." He said in a low growl, "What do you think you're doing?" "What're you talking about, Boss? I brought you new business!" Vladimir stressed. "New business?" The man said looking at Rouge. "Bringing me '_new business' _is NOT your job, Korkofsky! For all you know she could be a spy!" _"This guy looks like trouble." _Rouge thought to herself. The Masked Man pulled out a knife and held it to Vladimir's throat. "Do you know what happens when people disobey me?" "Please, Boss. I was only trying to help!" Vladimir pleaded. Without hesitation, the Masked Man cut his throat and Vladimir Korkofsky was no more.

He turned to Rouge, holding the bloody knife. "Now, who might you be?" He said menacingly. Rouge kept her composure, trying her best to ignore the dead body next to her. "I'm Rouge." She said. "Fascinating." The man said sarcastically. His voice now like a snake's hiss, "Why are you here, Rouge?" Something about this guy sent chills through Rouge's spine. She could barely think. All of the spy skills she'd accumulated seemed to disappear from her. She jumped back into her offensive. "Look, mystery man. I'm not here to play games. You're the guy selling the Black Jewels, right? I need those jewels. And money is not a problem." She said firmly. "No, of course not. Money is never a problem. It's trust. Trust in this world is far more valuable. You see, if I can't trust you, how can I do business with you?" The man said.

"I could say the same thing about you." She retorted. Just then, Rouge caught a lucky break. A siren went off, alerting the facility that an intruder had entered the base. The Masked Man turned to his guards, "Rally the soldiers! Kill the intruder!" He shouted. His guards ran out of the room. "An ally of yours?" He said to Rouge. "I came here alone." She told him. "Hmmm… We'll see." He hissed, pulling out a remote control device. He pushed a button and Rouge was thrown into a chair, her arms and legs held down by metal restraints. "Think of this as an insurance policy." He said. "What's wrong? Don't ya trust me?" Rouge replied with a smirk.

The masked man pulled up holographic monitors and stood examining them. Watching the screens, Rouge could see a vague blur crashing through the guard robots and decapitating soldiers left and right. The screens soon cut to static, throwing the Masked Man into a panic. He got on the loudspeakers and yelled, "ALL EMPLOYEES ARE ORDERED TO KILL THE INTRUDER! KILL HIM NOW!" "Looks like we've got company." Rouge told him. The path of destruction was heading straight towards the observation room. Suddenly, an explosion blasted a hole straight through the wall and standing in the wreckage was Shadow the Hedgehog, surrounded by a flurry of burning red energy. "WHAT'S THIS?!" The man yelled. Shadow jumped across the room, reaching for the Masked Man, but he quickly disappeared. The black hedgehog stood in silence for a moment staring at the ground. "Dammit." He muttered.

"Shadow?" Rouge exclaimed. "What are _you_ doing here?" Shadow glanced at her but didn't reply. He held up a radio, "Objective failed. Target escaped." He said. _"Return to HQ" _A voice replied. He knelt down in front of Rouge and broke the restraints from her arms and legs. After taking one last look around the room he made his way back through the facility. Rouge followed him, "Hey, hold up!" She yelled. Shadow stopped and turned around. "Thanks for your help but you just let my target get away!" She said. "_You're target_? I have orders to eliminate him." He said. "Orders from who?" She asked him, her hands on her hips. "That's none of your business." He replied coldly. Before Rouge could respond, Shadow used his Chaos Control and vanished into thin air. "Damn!" She shouted.

*** * ***

Later that night, Rouge was back at the hotel arguing with Espio, who was questioning her about what had happened at the underground base. "I already told you everything!" She yelled. "You're hiding something." He stated.

BEEP BEEP

"_Rouge, status report." _The General said.

"Mission failed, sir." She said reluctantly.

"_What? What happened?"_

Espio grabbed her wrist and spoke into her watch, "She won't tell me."

Rouge yanked her arm away from him, "Hands off, Lizard Man!"

''I think she's hiding something, General!" He yelled.

"_Rouge, what the devil is going on??"_

Rouge sighed, "Shadow, sir. He was there. He destroyed the lab and compromised my mission."

"Shadow? Did you say Shadow?!"

"Yeah." She said.

"Listen you two, Shadow has been official blacklisted! He's gone ROGUE!"

"What?!" Rouge and Espio gasped.

"Rouge, after that accident a few months ago on your last mission, Shadow disappeared. We recently received surveillance footage that clearly shows Shadow using his abilities to assassinate several top military officials around the world."

"Why wasn't I told about this?" Rouge asked him.

"We didn't want your relationship to Shadow to interfere with this mission."

"Relationship?" She said.

Suddenly, the transmission cut to static. "Hello? General? Are you there? General, do you copy?" She shot a look of worry at Espio. "I can't get through." She said. Espio checked his connection but couldn't get a signal. All of the sudden, warning sirens began sounding off all throughout the city! "We must be under attack!" Espio warned. The two looked out the windows. The city had erupted in urban warfare as missiles cut through the sky, taking down military fighter jets. "All hell's broken loose!" Rouge shouted over the sirens. Espio grabbed her arm, "We can't stay here!" He yelled.

*** * ***

As they escaped through the city, Rouge received a distress call from the President. "Rouge here." She said. "Rouge, your mission's been compromised!" The President said sternly. "Yeah, no kidding. Just what are you guys doin' over there anyway? This whole country's gone haywire!" She complained. "We're pulling you out. Europe has become too unstable. We're sending you coordinates for an extraction point. Is Agent Espio wth you?" He said. "Yeah. We just barely made it out of Paris." She told him. "Good." His voice sounded weak and somewhat worrisome. Espio looked down at his handheld computer. "Our location isn't too far from the extraction point." He said. "We've also received information that an unknown assassin is the one who set all of this off. Be careful." The President said, ending his transmission.

"He's probably talking about Shadow." Espio said. "No doubt." Rouge agreed. The two set off towards the extraction point. It wasn't far, but the escalating situations surrounding them would make it difficult to get there. They took to the small grassy areas around Paris, avoiding most of the mayhem that had consumed the city. But as they suspected, they would still have to fight their way through. A group of anarchist thugs stood between them and the bridge leading to their extraction point. Espio used his superior Ninja skills, rendering most of the thugs unconscious, as Rouge Screw Kicked through the barricade they had set up.

They swiftly bolted down the decaying bridge, dodging bullets and air raids. Cars were thrown from one side of the bridge to the other, causing it to crumble under the explosions. Out of the mask of smoke and fire, they could see a GUN helicopter circling around. Rouge spread her wings and jumped into the air with Espio hanging on her ankles. They ascended to the helicopter. Now only a few feet away from rescue, they could see the welcoming faces of the soldiers fending off enemy attacks. But before they could reach it, the chopper exploded in a furious blaze and went crashing down into a war-torn highway.

"NO!!!" Rouge and Espio screamed. The explosion had knocked the two of them through the air. Rouge quickly grabbed onto a piece of debris hanging off the side of the bridge, but Espio fell back down into the city. Rouge pulled herself up from the ledge but fell to the floor. "Ahh!!!" She screamed, holding her leg. A large piece of glass had shot into her thigh from the helicopter's explosion. Blood poured from her wound and she was beginning to lose consciousness. She struggled to stand up, but as she did, immense pain began to course through her body, sending her back to the ground.

As her eyes grew heavy, Rouge could only hear the deafening sound of sirens and gunfire. _"I… can't… die here…" _She thought. Suddenly, out of the smoke and flames, a figure appeared. She could barely make out the image and she was losing blood fast. It moved towards her slowly. As it drew closer, Rouge could see the silhouettes of other figures following it. They circled around her and as she closed her eyes she could finally see who it was that was standing in front of her.

"Shadow…" She whispered.


End file.
